There was a lot going on in the polling stations in Hesse on Sunday. Not everyone had voted by postal vote beforehand. Even if the percentage of postal voters was higher than ever before, most voters wanted to keep the tension going. That succeeded - and more. Because now it will stay exciting even longer. There was vigorous discussion in front of the polling stations, and it was clear to hear that the chancellor candidates on the Rhine and Main were not satisfied either. In the end it was almost a tie between the SPD and CDU, which reflects the indecision, despite the direct mandates won by the SPD and its slight lead.
If you take a closer look at the preliminary results, you will nevertheless get a clear impression - even more clearly than it seems at first glance.
First of all, it is now clear that on the political fringes, among the right and the left, no state can be made in Hesse either.
That's good news.
In addition, voters want to dare to do something new, also - and this is another message - if the change is not to be radical.
Because the election results are such that a later coalition with the help of the Hesse deputies has to give itself a push to finally consider more convincing concepts around climate protection and digitization.
But to make one of the future partners so strong that he could dominate a three-party coalition, the Hessians did not want that either.
Progress through innovation
In this context, the voters have given the Greens (even with a direct mandate in Frankfurt) and the FDP a strong hand, who can now consider whether the future Chancellor should be Olaf Scholz (SPD) or Armin Laschet (CDU). That is interesting. Because even the coalition that was negotiated in the spring in Römer would not function without a new closeness of the Greens and FDP. It is quite possible that the suspicion that younger voters in particular could be represented very well in their opinion by such a coalition is confirmed. If one assumes that there is a substantive connection between climate protection and digitization, even voters surprised by such an observation may become more aware of future politics.
In Frankfurt as in Berlin, however, it is crucial that the Greens and Yellows can only benefit if freedom is not neglected in the outcome of the negotiations and in subsequent politics. Because that is exactly what voters want: progress through innovation, not through bans, including in terms of climate protection. Prime Minister Volker Bouffier (CDU) is right in stating that his party, as the second strongest force in the Bundestag, could attempt to form a government. It used to be the case in the Federal Republic of Germany. What is decisive is: one way or another, the people want the new government to be formed from the middle of parliament, in the truest sense of the word. It is also remarkable that Bouffier's party colleague Reiner Haseloff said on the evening of the election,in the next election, the top candidate must also be selected in the CDU with greater participation from the party’s base than before. If the Hessian CDU should also take this to heart, it would be an exciting innovation in the gallop for the state elections. Because that required a choice between two or more applicants.
One thing is certain: in Hesse, too, Bouffier and the CDU will have to make a more attractive offer for younger voters in the future.
Having the Greens as a coalition partner is not enough on its own.